The molded polymeric article market is similar to several other markets in that it is trending towards customization and/or personalization. Moreover, there is a need to reduce production costs and provide molds that can be easily recycled or reused.
For example, the optical market is trending toward personalization of lenses. For example, digital surfacing technology allows for the potential to customize lenses to each individual's anatomical and optometric parameters, as well as other highly individualized measurements. It also allows lenses to take into account frame positioning; for example a lens shape can be created to allow for non-standard mounting (see https://www.bbgr.com/en-us/ensavoirplus/optique/Paqes/LeSurfa%C3%A7ageDigital.aspx). However, there are several disadvantages to creating lenses via digital surfacing. For example, since the process is based on the removal of lens material from a lens blank which is formed in the process, the process is wasteful and inefficient. It has been calculated that the digital surfacing of a typical lens from a blank to finished lens results in 50% or more of the lens material being cut away. The cut away material cannot be reused or recycled and, therefore, results in large amounts of landfill waste. It is, therefore, desirable to produce new methods of producing highly customized lenses which do not result in large amounts of waste.
One example of producing highly customized polymeric articles that meet the above requirements is to customize the mold surface such that a highly customized, finished article is obtained directly from the mold. However, since polished glass molds are expensive, it would be prohibitively expensive to make molds for every possible customized configuration in a traditional manner.
While it has been reported that polymeric articles, e.g., lenses, have been prepared using 3-dimensional printing processes, however, additive manufacturing processes are limited in the selection of polymeric resins that might be used.
The method of the present invention offers the ability to produce polymeric articles having specific customization features which are made using commonly known and industry acceptable polymeric materials. Further, it has now been found that the alternative approach of using a polymeric article casting process in which one or both mold surfaces is highly customizable and reusable allows for the production of highly customized articles, e.g., lenses and other transparencies, with high optical surface quality, while the molds can be easily recycled or reused.